Blood readings

[Welshie]

I bought a testing kit and first reading came up as 6.9, anybody care to explain how does that equate with reading s of 68 hba1c from first visit to docs

 

[Docb]

Beware of anybody who claims to do what you ask! What you need to do is collect readings for a few days particularly before and a couple of hours after eating and look for patterns. What you are looking for is the rise you get and the time it takes for your system to deal with it. Maybe then you might be able to say whether what you are getting is consistent with a 68 HbA1c.

While you are collecting your base data it is a good idea to keep a food diary so you can relate any high reading you get to what you have eaten.

 

[Ljc]

Hi. It doesn’t equate as they are totally different measurements . In the uk an on the spot fingerpick measures in mmol/l and the Hb1ac in mmol/mol .
Their is a formula that will give you a very basic idea, but it can’t be done on so few tests, it requires lots of finger bodges done every day

 

[Ljc]

Here is how many of us use a glucose meter to help control our diabetes.

1.We keep a food diary with a log book of our glucose levels, this can be an app, spread sheet or a note book.

2. We test our glucose levels directly before eating then two hours after the first bite as it is the difference between the two that is important.
The rise should be no more than 3 mmol/l
Don’t worry if your starting level was say 10 and your 2 hr test (post prandial) was 12.5. That meal was actually ok, it’s just that your pre meal level was high, which will gradually start to come down

However if your post prandial levels are more than 3.0 mmol/ you need to do a bit more tweeting of your carbohydrate intake for that meal.

I hope this helps

 

[grovesy]

Hba1c is a reading is an average over about 6 weeks. A finger stick reading is a point in time. You’ll need to take a lot more finger stick readings and look for trends before thinking about what it means in terms of hba1c.

It is over 12 weeks not 6.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Welshie,

Great question as the two reading can be confusing. As mentioned, the two units are different so not easily comparable. We do have a guide on our site that explains things in more detail and advises on how the two readings relate. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c

 

[grovesy]

oops. Pre-coffee brain

No problems.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Welshie

How long have you been living with diabetes?

Are you planning to use you BG meter before and after eating to tweak and tailor your meals?